The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to turbines. More specifically, the present disclosure related to inserts for a cooling circuit of a turbine system, such as a steam turbine.
Steam turbine systems rely on high steam temperatures in order to operate at peak efficiency. However, high steam temperatures, in combination with centrifugally-induced rotor stress, cause the rotor material to creep. Temperature-resistant rotor materials may be used to construct the drum rotor, but, unfortunately, the use of such materials significantly increases the cost of constructing the drum rotor. Effectively cooling the drum rotor during operation may extend the life of the drum rotor, without increasing the manufacturing cost.